Injured koala given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation5:01

The koala was first believed to have been hit by a car, which later fell out of a tree and was caught before needing mouth-to-mouth and CPR.

August 22nd 2014

3 years ago

THE koala brought back to life by firefighters and a wildlife carer last night is “doing well”, the rescuer who gave him CPR says.

The koala — named Sean after one of his saviours from the Langwarrin Fire Brigade — briefly died last night after being hit by a car as it was crossing Cranbourne Rd in Langwarrin, in Melbourne’s southeast.

Wildlife carer Michelle Thomas performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and compressions to save the animal with the help of two firefighters.

Ms Thomas is today caring for Sean — who she says is younger than five-years-old — at her Animalia Wildlife Shelter, which she runs in Frankston.

“He’s eating. He’s doing well,” she said.

“He’s not showing any signs of broken bones.

“He’s one very lucky koala.”

But the carer said she wouldn’t know for sure what condition he was in until she took him to the vet this afternoon to have blood work done to make sure his kidney was functioning.

Ms Thomas, 47, who has been a wildlife carer for almost 25 years, said a past experience of giving CPR to a dog helped her resuscitate the animal.

“With dogs you have to shut their mouths and breathe into their nostrils,” she said.

“I figured it worked the same way.

“I wasn’t gonna lose a fairly healthy koala for this reason.

“I opened his mouth to see if I could feel or hear a breath, because I couldn’t see the rise and fall of his chest. And then I gave him mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-nostril.”

Ms Thomas said the koala could have been hit by a car up to 24 hours before he was saved.

He was found by a passer-by on Wednesday sitting on the road, she said.

The passer-by picked him up and put him in a tree on the side of the road before returning the next day to check on him.

“He’d stayed there when he should have moved overnight. That’s how we knew something was wrong,” Ms Thomas said.

The good Samaritan then alerted Wildlife Victoria, who called the Langwarrin Fire Brigade to help rescue the animal.

Langwarrin CFA Captain, and the animal’s namesake Sean Curtin said the injured koala climbed further up the tree when the rescuers arrived, meaning a CFA “aerial” truck with a ladder had to be called in from the Frankston Fire Brigade to reach it.

The koala died when firefighters tried to pluck it from the tree and plummeted about 10 metres into to a blanket being held by CFA members, he said.

Ms Thomas performed CPR on the animal, assisted by firefighters.

“One of the members was pumping the koala’s chest to get some movement in the heart and also some air into the lungs,” Mr Curtin said.

The koala was also given oxygen therapy.

Mr Curtin said 12 members from the Langwarrin brigade assisted in the rescue — one of whom was perfectly qualified for the job.

“One of our members has performed CPR on a dog previously,” he said.

Ms Thomas said the firefighters were invaluable in helping save the koala.

She said the stretch of Cranbourne Rd where he was hit was “horrendous”.

“If a koala’s gonna get hit anywhere in Langwarrin, it’s gonna be there,” she said.

Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman Amy Amato said wildlife rescuers sometimes gave injured animals CPR when they were in particularly bad shape.

“It’s just another example of how dedicated our volunteers are,” she said.

The entire rescue was captured on film.

The koala was initially thought to be “Sir Chompsalot” — a koala in the area known to Wildlife Victoria.

Ms Amato said he was named Sean when it was realised this wasn’t the case.